The Bobcats practiced on Monday for the first time in fall camp. It was conducted in periods, with a total of 23 periods over two hours and 10 minutes. Here are The Post’s observations:
ATTENDANCE
Not present: Durrell Wood (non-football illness), OT Kyle Kuhar (medical DQ)
Injured: WR Elijah Ball (non-contact). Ball exited practice when running routes and something didn’t feel right. He will see doctor in coming days. It was his first full practice back since sitting out last season due to an ACL injury.
Attendance notes: Adam Notestine and Cole Irland both sat next to each other in the stands. Neither looked like they would be practicing in the near future.
OBSERVATIONS
Sights and sounds
- Monday was the debut of a red stripe going down the middle of the freshmen Bobcat helmets. On it, in green, was the words RISE UP, a mantra the program goes by. This stripe was created by the team's Student Unity Council and won’t be taken off until the council sees fit.
- Appearing on all helmets was a circle with the name of every player on the roster entering camp. It’s the trust circle, also put in place by the council. If one does not live up to certain expectations they’ll face certain consequences, such as using the visitors locker room.
- Two scouts were in attendance, one from the Oakland Raiders and another from the Tennessee Titans. Nothing new, but worth noting since it’s so early in camp.
Quarterbacks
- Nathan Rourke took the majority of the snaps with the first team offense as expected. In some short drives during team drills he completed passes to Markel Davis, Jake Neatherton and Andrew Meyer.
- Rourke looks the best when he is in pads and can show off his scrambling abilities. This won’t be seen until later in the week as the Bobcats will have to follow the NCAA’s protocol on adjusting to pads.
- Quinton Maxwell looked good at times, executing a few RPOs well. He will be the sure backup, but Ohio will need to determine the third-stringer. Early on, it looks like Drew Keszei and Joe Mischler will battle for the spot.
Running backs
- Until they break out the pads, there’s nothing to learn about the actual running game.
- A.J. Ouellette and Maleek Irons rotated through snaps with the first team, and Neatherton caught some screen passes in 7-on-7 drills.
Offensive line
- From left to right, the starting offensive line was Joe Lowery, Joe Anderson, Brett Kitrell, Hagen Meservy and Austen Pleasants. This means that Kitrell got the first crack at the starting center job, though Steven Hayes saw time at the position too. We’ll learn tomorrow if there will be a daily rotation at the position between Kitrell and Hayes.
- With the absence of Wood from practice, Meservy got a large portion of snaps with the first team at right guard. As a true freshman last year, he started at the position and probably will this year. Wood will be able to give some veteran advice and give the Bobcats a solid substitute at right guard.
- After the seven offensive linemen already mentioned there is a drop off in talent, but some should emerge throughout camp. Look for Marques Grimes to be in a substitute position at left tackle.
Defense
- While the offense spent the beginning of practice in position drills, the defense focused on five-drill circuit around forcing turnovers. Lasting about two minutes at each station, players focused on catching interceptions in traffic, batting down the ball and scooping it, swatting down the ball at the line of scrimmage, catching the ball at the line of scrimmage and reading coverage that would result in an interception.
- Last season the Bobcats intercepted opposing quarterbacks nine times resulting in two touchdowns. The two touchdowns came on two interceptions: one from Bradd Ellis, who graduated, and one from Chad Moore, who also graduated. It will be a focus for Ohio this camp to make sure players are trying to force turnovers at all times.
NEXT UP: The Bobcats return to practice Tuesday at 9 a.m. It is open to the public.
